In fact, like Xu Yong before, it is very common in the NBA that there is no time for love due to long-term training and competition.

You have to understand that this is the world's highest level basketball stage after all, and the intensity of competition is far beyond that of other leagues.

But humans are not machines after all. In order to relieve the stress brought by this high-pressure life, many people choose to keep pets.

Some common ones include cats and dogs, Klay Thompson's dog, and Stoudemire's desire to raise some fish.

Of course, more people prefer to raise some alternative and unpopular ones, such as Danny Green's python, Arenas's shark, Gortat's piglet and so on.

But most of those are still controllable by humans, but the two big guys, or big cats, in front of us look domineering and are a perfect match for O'Neal.

Of the two big cats, Xu Yong only recognized one, a white Bengal tiger, and he couldn't recognize the other one.

"Its name is Charles." O'Neal obviously had a special liking for the other one and introduced it to Xu Yong.

"Prince Charles?" Xu Yong asked tentatively.

"No, no, Charles Barkley, that's its name," O'Neal explained with a smile.

Perhaps because it heard its own name, the tiger opened its mouth and shouted.

"What kind of tiger is it?" Xu Yong was immediately amused when he heard this and couldn't help asking curiously.

"There are only two ligers in the world. One is with me, and the other is with the prince of Dubai."

Xu Yong looked puzzled. What is a liger? It sounds like a name from Yu-Gi-Oh!

"When a male tiger and a female lion have sex, the offspring are called a tigon. When a female tiger and a male lion have sex, the offspring are called a liger." O'Neill said as he started feeding it meat.

Xu Yong was stunned when he heard this.

He knew that a mule could be obtained by crossbreeding a horse and a donkey, but he didn't know about tigers and lions.

But this tiger is a hybrid, and his name is Barkley. He feels that O'Neal is a bit too mean.

After both tigers were fed, a professional caretaker came over to put a chain and protective gear on Barkley, then let him out for a walk.

Barkley is still very close to O'Neal. He rubs his head against O'Neal as soon as he comes out. It seems that he has raised O'Neal since he was a child.

After strolling around the yard, it ran to Xu Yong and sniffed with interest.

Xu Yong felt a little scared. Although these two big cats were probably not yet adults, if they really got out of control, this place would not be able to summon Wu Song.

O'Neal was very hospitable and even invited Xu Yong to have a barbecue in the yard.

This wave of events has brought the two of them closer together.

"I have a chef preparing Chinese food for me now. You can come and try it tomorrow morning." Chinese people believe in reciprocity, and after the meal, Xu Yong also extended an invitation to O'Neal.

O'Neal nodded without hesitation.

The next morning, just as Xu Yong had finished his training before breakfast, O'Neal rang the doorbell.

Because there is daily training this morning, O'Neal must have gotten up early, but he got up on time. It is obvious that O'Neal is a foodie now.

NBA players generally control their diet, but everyone eats differently. Basically, just avoid pork, high-fat and high-sugar foods.

Like most NBA players, the staple foods are usually fried rice, beef, salad, etc. Vegetables include tomatoes, beans, broccoli, carrots, etc., and there are also high-protein foods such as chicken breast, salmon, squid, and eggs.

You have to know that NBA players consume a huge amount of energy every day. Someone like O'Neal has to eat five meals a day.

As for Xu Yong, since he was gaining weight, he actually ate a lot every day, but the diet menu that Grover set for him included a lot of Chinese food.

For example, what I'm having for breakfast right now.

In addition to eggs, there are also special foods that Xu Yong invited O'Neal to taste.

Looking at the white food in front of him that looked like cheese and still had some moisture in it, O'Neal's eyes were full of curiosity.

"Is this tofu?" Fortunately, O'Neal is also worldly-wise.

"Tofu's brain." Xu Yong said jokingly.

O'Neal was a little confused now.

"Just kidding, it's called tofu pudding, a semi-finished product before being made into tofu. Do you want it sweet or salty?" Xu Yong asked.

"Doesn't it need to be cooked?" O'Neal was unsure.

Xu Yong shook his head. It sounded like O'Neal had been taken advantage of somewhere else before.

"Sweet one." O'Neal finally made a choice.

After listening to this, Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help laughing.

"What's wrong?" O'Neal looked confused.

"It's okay." Xu Yong smiled and added sugar to the tofu pudding.

Generally speaking, those who eat sweet tofu pudding are heretics.

O'Neal took the sweet tofu pudding and started eating it. His eyes lit up when he took the first bite.

Tofu pudding is tender and smooth, but not cloudy like cheese. It is a very refreshing food.

If it is sweet, there is no seasoning, which best reflects its characteristics.

In the blink of an eye, O'Neal finished the small bowl of tofu pudding.

For someone who drinks mineral water like oral liquid, it is really too little.

O'Neal then turned his gaze to the bowl in front of Xu Yong, who had already started adding ingredients into it.

Sesame oil, soy sauce, dried shrimps, balsamic vinegar, peanuts, chili peppers, shallots...

Salty tofu pudding, that’s what normal people like to eat.

Just when Xu Yong added the seasoning and was about to eat, he noticed O'Neal's eager eyes.

He put down the spoon, then asked with a smile, "Would you like to try something salty?"

O'Neill smiled and nodded.

For those who try it for the first time, there may not be a difference between "sweet party" and "salty party".

Xu Yong pushed the one in front of him away. He ate it often and didn't care about this bowl.

O'Neal took it with a happy look on his face and quickly tried it out.

When he took the first bite, his expression was very strange, as if he was eating something familiar but not quite the same.

But he soon took the second bite, and just like he had done with Xuanmai, he couldn't stop, and soon finished that bowl as well.

Moreover, he picked up the bowl and drank up the remaining soup in the bowl, and finally even gave Xu Yong a thumbs up.

"The first bite is amazing, but I don't feel much after eating it. This may be the case with all sweets. But this one tastes a little special at first, but I can't stop eating it after eating too much. I like this." O'Neal said, pointing his finger to the salty tofu pudding he had just finished eating.

Seeing this, Xu Yong stretched out his hand, smiled and bumped fists with him: "We are the same kind of people."

"Can I come and eat this every morning?" O'Neal asked with some reluctance when he saw that there was no more on the table.

"It's a reward, a reward after finishing training in the morning," Xu Yong explained.

"You train before breakfast every day?" O'Neal seemed a little surprised.

"My trainer is Tim Grover." Xu Yong used an explanation that O'Neal could accept most.

O'Neal suddenly realized, then smiled and nodded.

In fact, whether as an opponent or a teammate, Xu Yong gave him an incredible feeling.

Kobe, who was still sitting on the bench in his sophomore year, certainly cannot be compared with Xu Yong. If we have to say who he feels most similar to, it would have to be his teammate on the Magic team back then, "Penny" Anfernee Hardaway.

Of course, that was before the injury.

Now it seems that Xu Yong really lived up to the saying: I'm not afraid of others being more talented than you, I'm just afraid of people with talent working harder than you.

It is really not surprising at all that Xu Yong was able to perform like this in the first two years of his career.

"So if I train with you in the morning, can I also get such a reward?" O'Neal asked with a smile.

Xu Yong didn't expect O'Neal to ask this, but O'Neal's question made him touch his chin with interest.

O'Neal's injury problem is actually a major hidden danger for the Bulls.

Although the Heat won the Christmas game, his absence had a great impact on the game.

Because if O'Neal played, he and Yao Ming would take turns to hammer the Heat's inside line, and Spoelstra would probably be forced to abandon his defensive tactics before halftime.

But now O'Neal has already started to sit out. If he really fails to play in high-intensity games due to injury like he did with the Celtics in history, the Bulls will suffer a huge loss.

So if I train with him, control my weight a bit, and maintain my competitive form during the regular season, will I be able to fight in the playoffs?

This sounds pretty good indeed.

Just like only the national team can make Yao Ming change his mind, for O'Neal now, only the food he is interested in can give him some motivation.

"Of course, and if there is a chance later, I can let you try other things. But if you miss the training, you will lose this reward." Xu Yong said with a smile.

O'Neal smiled and stretched out his hand to bump fists with Xu Yong, and the two of them reached an agreement.

…

The Christmas offseason has not yet ended, but the first round of voting for the new year's All-Star Game has already begun.

This year's All-Star Game is held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and American fans are more willing to vote.

However, it is obvious that the main voting force this year is not in the United States, but far away on the other side of the ocean.

The Bulls are now the team with the best record in the league. They are suppressing the Big Three of the Heat in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champion Lakers in the league. With such a situation, one can predict with one's toes how many votes the Bulls will get this year.

To quote some domestic fans: This year the Bulls will definitely have three All-Star starters. I say, even the best player can’t do anything about it.

This is not bragging. A few days later, at the end of December, when the results of the first round of voting came out, American fans were shocked.

The person who won the first-round vote was, yes, Xu Yong.

Xu Yong received 1.12 million votes, the only player among all players to receive over one million votes in the first round.

Yes, even though the NBA has many restrictions on votes in the Chinese region, Xu Yong still easily broke the million mark.

In comparison, Kobe, who ranked third, only received 730,000 votes.

James, who ranked second among Eastern Conference forwards, only received 540,000 votes, less than half of Xu Yong's votes.

This is how popular Xu Yong is now.

This is already as powerful as when Grant Hill defeated Jordan to be elected the league's top vote-getter.

Even with this momentum, Xu Yong may break the All-Star vote record.

This is real popularity and value, not the kind of commercial value that only exists in theory like others.

This time, both the Bulls and AJ made a lot of money.

In addition to Xu Yong, Rose also topped the list of Eastern Conference guards with 600,000 votes.

Yao Ming received 850,000 votes, ranking first among Eastern Conference centers and second only to Xu Yong.

…

Time flies, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past month, American fans have been protesting the vote of Chinese fans and campaigning for American players, just like last year.

But this approach ultimately failed to change any results, just like last year.

Firstly, Stern's attitude was firm. Although he was angry about Yao Ming's decision, he would not go against money.

Secondly, given the Bulls' performance this year, especially their steady improvement since entering January, shouldn't they have received so many votes?

So when the four rounds of voting were over and the results came out, the Bulls fans could only describe their feelings in two words: comfortable.

Xu Yong received 4.02 million votes!

Not only did he break the record of 3.15 million votes set by Howard two years ago, he also raised the level of this record to a higher level.

His stats before the voting results this year were averaging 24 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, with a 50.8% shooting percentage and a 40.5% three-point shooting percentage, plus his playing style and popularity in China.

There's no way it can hold back this number of votes!

Rose eventually received 1.9 million votes and was selected as the starting guard for the Eastern Conference along with Wade.

Yao Ming received 2.9 million votes, second only to Xu Yong, and was successfully elected as the starting center in the Eastern Conference.

Howard also received about 1.9 million votes, but with Yao Ming around, he not only lost the title of top vote-getter, but also had to experience the same feeling as O'Neal did back then, of never being able to start in a division All-Star game again.

The final All-Star starting lineups: Western Conference: Paul, Kobe, Durant, Anthony, Noah;

East: Rose, Wade, Xu Yong, James, Yao Ming.

Shortly after the voting results came out, the coach also selected the substitute lineup.

West: Westbrook, Deron Williams, Ginobili, Nowitzki, Duncan, Griffin, Gasol

Eastern Conference: Rondo, Pierce, Joe Johnson, Garnett, Bosh, Stoudemire, Howard

However, just after this list came out, there was something worthy of attention on Xu Yong's side.

The endorsement contract he signed with AJ included a bonus of 4 million.

In his rookie season, he won the Rookie of the Year award, and his bonus for that year was triggered.

However, this year, the conditions for him to get the reward are more complicated, but there is one that is the quickest and most convenient.

That’s right, the All-Star Game MVP.